To Be Or Not To Be
by Casey Toh
Summary: The first story in my just started Jas Lee series. Please read and review.


****Disclaimer: The Magician and all related characters belong to Gaumont Multimedia. Jas Lee belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended through the usage of The Magician and characters. 

Please read and review. Thanks.****

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******TO BE OR NOT TO BE**

By Casey Toh

"Yo Blockheads!" the redheaded teen known only as Cosmo called out mockingly to the henchmen of Jack Malone, a.k.a. Black Jack. "Whatcha doing at the bank in bright daylight in tourist clothes?"

Spade, the more simple-minded of the two, blushed at being caught. "W—we're—

Ace Cooper, international star of magic and Electro City's self-appointed crime-fighter grinned from his seat in the Magic Racer, blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "Is there any trouble, gentlemen? Maybe I could get the cops to help?"

"Mind your business, Cooper!" the green-headed Diamond hissed, tugging on Spade's sleeve. "We're leaving."

Then, as the two were preparing to take off, Ace spotted a gold bar slip from Diamond's bag and drop onto the ground, as did Cosmo. They jumped out of the Magic Racer and went after them.

Diamond saw them coming and broke into a run, yelling at Spade to move his bulk. However, being in much better shape than they were, Ace and Cosmo soon caught up with them. "Going somewhere, gentlemen?"

Diamond acted indignant. "We ain't did nothin', Cooper. Now go away!"

"Oh yeah?" Cosmo tugged on the bag Spade was holding, and it became a game of tug-o-war between them, with Cosmo gaining the upper hand and spilling the contents of the bag out. Gold bars hit the cemented ground with bright 'Tings!' "Nothing huh?" The teen looked satisfied with himself.

"Gentlemen, I believe these belong to the bank." Ace's voice was smooth and reasonable, as if coaxing children. "Why don't I accompany you to return them?"

"You'll pay for this, Cooper!" Diamond snarled as he and Spade whipped out blaster guns and shot at Ace wildly.

"Yeah, you'll pay," Spade concurred.

Ace pushed Cosmo out of the way, eyes cold. He wrapped his cloak around him and shouted, "Magic Force, reveal the power within!" and went into a mad spin, body encased in violet light. When he stopped, he was in a dark brown jumpsuit. A red half-face of an insignia appeared on the portion of his right chest as he slammed it with his fist. "It's payback time."

The Magician raised his arms and seemingly grabbed at nothing in the air. The henchmen's blasters jerked out of their grasps and floated in mid-air, then rotated to point their muzzles at them. Their faces were ones of pure horror as their own weapons turned on them.

"Here's a taste of your own medicine." Ace squeezed his hands shut, and the blasters fired. He was careful to shoot to either side of them and not at the men themselves. 

He was so intent on being cautious with the guns that when Cosmo shouted out in warning, "Ace! Watch out!" he jerked the blasters up and fired.

Right in front of him, a young woman crumpled to the pavement, her body limp. A spreading pool of red formed around her. Ace could only stare blankly at the lifeless body on the ground. Then, a horrified cry escaped his lips. "Nooooo!!!"

***

"Hey Ace!" the voice of Cosmo cut into the Magician's thoughts. "You gotta take it easy, dude! I called the hospital and they said she was okay."

Ace did not hear his friend. His eyes, and ears were glued to the huge TV screen in front of him. Duke Paparazzo's annoying face and voice came on in the time slot allocated for SensaNews, but Ace took no notice of him, only what he was reporting.

"Some bystanders saw Ace Cooper shoot down a teen named Jas Lee near the Electro City Bank at noon today. It was said that the Magician was chasing two crooks and did not see her. Jas is now in Electro City Hospital, recuperating nicely. She—

Ace hit the 'Off' switch in anger, and slumped back against the couch tiredly. Cosmo joined him at his side. "C'mon dude! Paparazzo already said she was okay, and I called up the hospital to confirm it." The teen was worried about his friend.

"If I had been more careful, she would not have gotten hurt in the first place." Ace gave a sigh.

"It was an accident, Ace," Cosmo insisted. "You know it."

"No, Cosmo," the older man retorted, "it was not an accident. It was my magic that caused it. I once vowed never to let my Magic Force hurt anyone. It did." He took a deep breath. "I'm giving up magic."

The teen's eyes went wide with shock as he registered what his friend was saying. "You can't give up magic, Ace! It's been a part of you for you entire life! Ace!" He grabbed the man's shoulders in an attempt to make him see the light.

Ace disengaged himself. "I'll continue teaching you, of course. But from today, The Magician is no more!" he proclaimed.

***

Eighteen-year-old Jas Lee was in her bed, watching the news. It had been a few days since she had been shot, and just today, her nurse had informed her that Ace Cooper was going to give up magic. He had publicly declared it, and gave no reason, but it wasn't hard to figure out why.

She gave a sigh, shaking her head in lament, long blonde hair rippling. Just as she was about to start reading a book, two men entered her ward. One was a slender man of average height, with hair that was dyed green and a distinctive black diamond patch over his right eye. The other was a huge bulky man standing over six feet. Both were in the same garb of red coat with black markings and off-white pants.

"Is there anything I could do for you?" she asked politely.

"Ms. Lee, we saw Ace Cooper shoot you that day. Our boss is his enemy, and since he hurt you, our boss figured you hate him, and was wonderin' whether you want to join our fight against Cooper," the slender man started.

"Why would I want to hate Ace Cooper?" She was incredulous. Then, "Wait, you haven't told me your names."

"I'm Diamond, and this is Spade. We're working for Mr. Black Jack, once known as Jack Malone," he said.

"Okay, Diamond, why should I listen to Black Jack for any reason at all?" Jas demanded.

"Figured Cooper got you hurt and almost killed you," Diamond stated. "So, do you want to take up the Boss's offer and work with us?"

Jas pretended to consider the option, and with a sweet smile, said, "I should think not, gentlemen. Tell your boss I appreciate it, but I'd rather take revenge myself."

Diamond shrugged. "That's your choice, but you'll be missin' out on somethin' really good. Have a nice day, Ms. Lee." The two left.

***

The door to the Magic Express slid open with a soft whoosh, and a beautiful redheaded woman with sparkling green eyes entered. She glanced around the familiar interior and saw Ace meditating. Her digital watch read 9:45p.m, and she figured he would be ending soon.

Five minutes later, Ace came out of his meditation and saw her. "Mona," he acknowledged. "What brings you here?"

Mona Malone, the famous blues singer for Croesus Place and Black Jack's daughter, spoke up. "Ace, I came over as soon as Dad's asleep. Why did you give up your magic? You know that Jas is all right."

The Magician's eyes were full of guilt as he regarded his girlfriend. Even though he and her father were enemies, their love for each other had been unbreakable throughout the years they had been together. "Remember that one night I lashed out at a boy for hurting you?" Mona nodded. "Well, I didn't tell you, but I hurt him really bad with my magic. I vowed never to hurt another with my magic ever again, but I did."

"It was unintentional, Ace," Mona protested, heart breaking at seeing her lover in so much guilt and pain. "You didn't see her coming."

"Whatever the case, I did hurt her, and I do intend on keeping my vow. So please, don't try to change my mind, Mona. It won't work." Ace turned away. "It's late, Mona. You better go back before your father worries about you." Without another word, he left the room, and Mona was all alone.

***

"Ace, there's someone at the door for you," Angel, the Magic Express's AI informed the Magician early in the morning. 

Ace hoisted himself out of bed with a groan, and told Angel to let whomever it was in while he went to freshen up. It took him only ten minutes, and he headed to play host. As he entered the living hall, he froze in shock. "M-Ms. Lee?" With a mental push, he recomposed himself and got her a drink. "Is anything the matter?"

Jas got straight to the point. "Call me Jas, please. Mr. Cooper, I saw on the news you gave up your magic. Although you did not give any reasons, it wasn't hard to figure out why."

"I hurt an innocent person," he stated simply, feeling his heart well up with more guilt.

"It was an accident," she insisted.

"Jas, accidents _can_ be prevented if one is more careful," Ace pointed out. "And apparently, I threw caution to the wind when I fought Spade and Diamond that day."

"Those two came to see me with an offer to join Black Jack against you," Jas told him. "They thought that I would hate you for hurting me. I lied to them that I would take my own revenge just in case they wouldn't leave me alone. I just want to tell you this so that you would not get the wrong idea."

"Don't you?"

"Don't I what?"

"Hate me?"

Jas leaned forward, hiding a wince as her wound reminded her she needed rest. "Mr. Cooper, not everyone hates easily. From my point of view, this was an accident, and nothing could have been done to prevent it."

As Ace gazed at the teen, he felt a weird feeling in him besides the guilt and pain that was overwhelming him. It was strange, yet slightly familiar. It was guilt, but not his guilt. Alarmed but not frightened, he spoke quietly. "Jas, you're in pain."

Not understanding what he meant, she said, "Yeah, my wound hurts a little, but I'm okay."

He shook his head in correction. "Not that. Your heart. You're feeling pain and guilt in your heart."

With a small gasp, Jas moved backwards with a jerk. "I-I think you got it all mixed up, Mr. Cooper." She gave a nervous smile. "I'm not in pain."

This time, mixed with the double pain and guilt, was fright. "Jas," Ace started slowly so as not to frighten the teen, "do you have a power or powers you were born with?"

"How did you know that?" she exclaimed. Then, with realization that she had given herself away, tried hard to rectify her mistake and slip of the tongue. "I mean, no. I do not have powers."

"Then why am I experiencing your feelings?" he prodded gently to assure her he meant no harm.

Jas knew she was caught and there was no way out. Hoping with her whole heart that what she was about to say would not leave the four walls, she gave a defeated sigh. 'I do have a power, Mr. Cooper. But I have not yet learnt to wield it properly."

"What power?" he inquired, intrigued, forgetting for the moment he had to apologize to Jas for the accident.

She rolled up the sleeve of her right arm tentatively, wincing at the pain it caused, which instantly reminded Ace that they were not there to talk about powers and such, but to apologize to her. "Jas, there's no need to explain to me. I'm sorry I got carried away."

"I want to tell you this, Mr. Cooper." She gazed at him. "I know that your magic is special. I can feel it. I don't know how, but I do. And I don't want you to give it up just because of a small accident not even worth mentioning." She finished rolling up her sleeve to show an eagle tattoo on her right arm.

_No, not a tattoo_, Ace decided. _There is some sort of energy or power radiating from her and it. It looks like a_—

"—a birthmark," Jas was saying. "It sorts of manifest itself when I consciously call for it or when I'm in danger. I kept this from everyone 'cause I knew they wouldn't understand." 

"You have not learnt to use it properly?" Ace realized that he was off track again.

She gave an embarrassed grin. "Actually, no." She made it a point to look directly at him, contemplating whether to call him by his name, thinking that a more personal title would drive her point in. "So now you know about this, please just re-accept your magic."

Ace shook his head in regret. 'I can't Jas, I can't. I can't forgive myself for hurting you, and I do not expect you to forgive me either."

_He needs me to forgive him so that he can partially take away the guilt and pain_, Jas realized. _And if he needs that, I'll do whatever I can to relieve him of the pain._ "Look Ace, I'll make you a deal."

The Magician was suspicious, and his demeanor showed it. "What deal?"

"I'll forgive you, _if_ you forgive yourself." Jas grinned. "Good for you?"

It took him a few seconds to assimilate her words, and when he did, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. With a grin, he nodded. "Deal. But," he added quickly, "let me help you train in that power of yours. Or else no deal."

Jas was stuck. On one hand she did not want to impose on someone else, but on the other, this little 'sacrifice' on her part would ensure that Ace didn't have to make himself miserable for his entire life. "Well, okay. But you have to re-accept your magic. Or else, no deal." She grinned mischievously. 

Her smile was contagious and Ace had to smile back. "You drive a hard bargain." He pretended to think about it. "All right. I have a guest room you can use."

"You want me to stay in your home?" She asked incredulously.

"It's called the Magic Express, and yes, I want you to stay here while you train," Ace replied seriously. "I owe you at least this much."

"Well, okay. And thanks. I think I'm gonna owe you in time to come," she laughed.

They sealed their pact and new friendship with lemonade.

THE END


End file.
